Anvils

Since I spent most of last week working in the forge you can guess what has most been on my mind lately. Yes, blacksmithing. That being the case, this entry will concern itself with the forge. My forge and now smithy began as a hobby forge. Most of the elements of my smithy are still hobby grade, but since I built the equipment myself after experimenting with earlier models, my current equipment can and does stand up to commercial use. When/if you decide that blacksmithing is a hobby you would like to pursue or experiment with, consider making your own equipment before purchasing anything expensive. After all, a primary reason for pursuing blacksmithing is to teach yourself the skills to craft metals into useful tools and objects you may need around the homestead.

One such tool that no blacksmith can do without is the anvil. Commercially produced anvils are extremely expensive. A good anvil will cost into the hundreds of FRNs while a great anvil will cost over a thousand FRNs. Such anvils are highly desirable and feature accessaries like hardy holes, pritchel holes, trued and flat faces, stepped faces and highly useful horns. While these features are not whiz-bang gadgets, many are just holes in the anvil or rounded extensions, they offer unique surfaces for the blacksmith to apply his skill. Such an expense, however, is unwarrented for the beginner or hobbiest.

Small anvils featuring flat faces, hardy holes and horns that are nearly useful can be purchased in the fifty to sixty FRN range at Northern and Harbor Freight hardware stores. They weigh fifty-five pounds (small) and are cast iron. They will not stand up to forging a lot of high-carbon items, but are OK for low-carbon forging. They are made in China, so are not of great quality. Their horns are too wide for use as mandrels such as when forging bases for candle holders or forging small loops, bends and hooks. Their most useful feature is the one inch square hardy hole. This is a perfect standard for most hardy tools. I have used the anvil's hardy hole with cut off hardies, mushroom hardies, square face hardy and bending hardies and plates. For these purposes the Chinese anvil works very well.

Probably the cheapest anvil you will come across is merely a length of rail-road track. My first anvil was an eighteen inch length of track. These are very sturdy and endurable. They will stand up very well to forging anything from straight iron, to low carbon and high carbon steels. Even the red hard molybdenum and chromium alloys can be forged constantly and without impunity on rail-road track anvils. Their secret is they are rolled from A-1 tool steel. This is an air hardening alloy made for endurance under constant impact. As such, it does have one drawback. It is "springy". When you shape your metal with your hammer, your work will want to spring off the face of your anvil unlike the "dead" face of cast and commercial anvils that have been tempered to remove the springiness. A "dead" face means less movement of your work and greater accuracy of your blows.

Since a length of track was my first anvil I have come to be completely used to its springiness. After using the Chinese anvil I certainly appreciate a dead face, but will not upgrade to a commercial anvil due to the cost. I have two track anvils now and will acquire another one to shape a proper horn into.

Another anvil that I have found useful is an I beam cut to a short length. This, I use as a straightening anvil as its face is absolutely flat. This makes it easy to straighten hot lengths of metal merely by placing it lengthwise on the I beam and hammering it flat wherever it sticks up.

These anvils work every bit as well commercially as they do for the hobbiest, so if you find a time in your life that you would like to turn your hobby into a paying profession, keep your hobby anvils and use them. They will save you a bundle of FRNs and work well for your trade.

If anyone has any need for blacksmithing tools, please leave a comment here as to which tool and size you need. I can make some, assuming the proper material is available to me and I can sell it to you through North Woods Traders at http://northwoodstraders.ecrater.com